Manuel Meier and Lena Siebert crowned German champions for the second time

Following his disappointing performance in the European Championship final on home soil in Berghaupten, Manuel Meier proved himself a shrewd competitor at the German Sidecar Championship in Vechta. Together with his passenger Lena Siebert, he won all three heats, Semi-final 1 and the final race. In the end, the formidable duo finished four points clear of the reigning European champions, Markus Brandhofer from Gaißach and his Dutch passenger Bridget Meijerink.

It was all about keeping a cool head

The two teams, who had already been declared the overwhelming favourites for the title, had to face each other twice in the heats. On both occasions, the red team with start number 90 (Meier/Siebert) crossed the finish line ahead of the blue team with start number 44 (Brandhofer/Meijerink) following fierce battles for position. “You had to ride smart; that was my big advantage,” said Meier happily after the atmospheric floodlit event at the Reiterwaldstadion in Vechta. “Just going full throttle into the bend – that didn’t work here. You had to use your head and play with the throttle; otherwise, you were done for.”

Manuel Meier still had the European Championship final two weeks earlier at his home track in Berghaupten fresh in his mind. “We got off to a bad start in the final there and only finished fourth. So we came into this race here in Vechta with a real fire in our bellies. But now we’re over the moon to be heading into the German Championship with maximum points – that shows what we’re capable of.”

Three teams from MSC Berghaupten

Indeed, Meier and Siebert had also shown in the German Championship final that clever line choice was key. Here, they prevailed against their club-mates Achim Neuendorf and Johannes Schnaitter, who were also riding very strongly that evening. Brandhofer/Meijerink finished third in the final ahead of returnee Oliver Wehrle, who put in a very strong performance, and his passenger Noah Schirmaier.

For Neuendorf’s brother Raphael San Millan and co-driver Benedikt Zapf, however, a disappointing evening came to an end with a crash after they got the sidecar wheel caught on the air fences in Lap 1 just before the start/finish line and went over the handlebars. The third team from MSC Berghaupten clearly underperformed, finishing fifth in the overall standings.

Results, Vechta, German Sidecar Championship: